COMPANYHISTORIES
NAIC 52593

Real Estate Investment Trusts

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

37companies1907–1997founding years36still active1no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedFairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc.
1907
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedThe Nature Conservancy
1951
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
FoundedSimon Property Group, Inc.
1960
FoundedNew Plan Realty Trust
1961
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedAssociated Estates Realty Corporation
1964
FoundedKimco Realty Corporation
1966
FoundedBoston Properties, Inc.
1970
FoundedPost Properties, Inc.
1971
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedThe Middleton Doll Company
1978
FoundedTanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedStorage USA, Inc.
1985
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
FoundedProLogis
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
FoundedDevelopers Diversified Realty Corporation
1992
FoundedEquity ResidentialFoundedGables Residential TrustFoundedRegency Centers Corporation
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
FoundedAvalonBay Communities, Inc.
1994
FoundedSovran Self Storage, Inc.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. →
Active · founded 1907 · Canada
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc.
Iscor Limited →
Active · founded 1927 · South Africa
Iscor Limited has surprised the worldwide steel industry by shedding its valuable mining assets--spun off as publicly…
The Nature Conservancy →
Active · founded 1951
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is the star performer among environmental groups, in size, growth, effectiveness, and…
Lend Lease Corporation Limited →
Active · founded 1958 · Australia
Lend Lease Corporation Limited, one of Australia's top public companies, is a leading integrated global real estate…
Simon Property Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1960
Simon Property Group, Inc.
Cousins Properties Incorporated →
Active · founded 1961
Cousins Properties Incorporated is a real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Atlanta, Georgia, involved in the…
New Plan Realty Trust →
Active · founded 1961
The largest equity real estate investment trust in the United States, New Plan Realty Trust owns income-producing…
Archstone-Smith Trust →
Active · founded 1963
Archstone-Smith Trust, with headquarters in Englewood, Colorado, is the third largest apartment real estate investment…
Associated Estates Realty Corporation →
Active · founded 1964
For the first 30 years, Associated Estates Realty Corporation was a family-owned business that built, managed, and…
The Macerich Company →
Active · founded 1964
The Macerich Company is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) involved in the…
Kimco Realty Corporation →
Active · founded 1966
Kimco Realty Corporation is one of the largest owners and operators of neighborhood and community shopping centers in…
EastGroup Properties, Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
EastGroup Properties, Inc.
Boston Properties, Inc. →
Active · founded 1970
The media empire of Mortimer B.
Colonial Properties Trust →
Active · founded 1970
Colonial Properties Trust is a Birmingham, Alabama-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that takes a balanced…
Post Properties, Inc. →
Active · founded 1971
Post Properties, Inc.
United Dominion Realty Trust, Inc. →
Active · founded 1972
United Dominion Realty Trust, Inc.
The Middleton Doll Company →
Active · founded 1978
Formerly Bando McGlocklin Capital Corporation, The Middleton Doll Company is primarily involved in the doll business…
CIGNA Corporation →
Active · founded 1981
CIGNA Corporation is an insurance and financial services organization focusing on employee benefits, with its…
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. →
Active · founded 1981
For more than 20 years, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc.
Duke Realty Corporation →
Active · founded 1985
Duke Realty Corporation is an Indianapolis-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the…
Storage USA, Inc. →
Active · founded 1985
A self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, Storage USA, Inc.
Sun Communities Inc. →
Active · founded 1985
Sun Communities Inc.
ProLogis →
Active · founded 1991
ProLogis is the world leader in leasing and managing distribution centers.
CarrAmerica Realty Corporation →
Active · founded 1992
CarrAmerica Realty Corporation operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) focusing on the acquisition,…
Developers Diversified Realty Corporation →
Active · founded 1992
Developers Diversified Realty Corporation (DDR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Beachwood, Ohio.
Chateau Communities, Inc. →
Active · founded 1993
An owner, manager, and developer of manufactured home communities in the United States, Chateau Communities, Inc.
Equity Residential →
Active · founded 1993
Equity Residential is part of the farflung business empire of Chicago billionaire Samuel Zell, known as the "Grave…
First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. →
Active · founded 1993
First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.
Gables Residential Trust →
Active · founded 1993
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Gables Residential Trust is an umbrella partnership real estate investment trust (UPREIT).
Manufactured Home Communities, Inc. →
Active · founded 1993
Manufactured Home Communities, Inc.
Regency Centers Corporation →
Active · founded 1993
Regency Centers Corporation is a Jacksonville, Florida-based real estate investment trust (REIT), one of the largest…
Apartment Investment and Management Company →
Active · founded 1994
Apartment Investment and Management Company (AIMCO) is the largest U.S.
AvalonBay Communities, Inc. →
Active · founded 1994
AvalonBay Communities, Inc.
Liberty Property Trust →
Active · founded 1994
Liberty Property Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb.
Sovran Self Storage, Inc. →
Defunct · founded 1995
Based in Buffalo, New York, Sovran Self Storage, Inc.
Equity Office Properties Trust →
Active · founded 1996
Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP) is the largest real estate investment trust (REIT) and largest office building…
AMB Property Corporation →
Active · founded 1997
Operating out of San Francisco, AMB Property Corporation is a real estate investment trust (REIT) concentrating on…
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